Defamation
by MorganAW
Summary: While staying at Netherfield, Lizzie receives a cease and desist letter from the Pemberley Digital lawyers for defamation of character of their CEO. (Lizzie Bennet Diaries universe)
1. Chapter 1

Licensing Note: Based on Characters and story lines from the _Lizzie Bennet Diaries,_ written and produced by Bernie Su and based off of _Pride and Prejudice_ by Jane Austen. Dialogue from the _Lizzie Bennet Diaries_ is in green, text from Jane Austen and a sample cease and desist letter from Attorney AAron Hall is in blue. If you would like to turn off the colored text, click "Hide Creator's Style" at the top of the page. The tense, pronouns, or wording of these quotes may be slightly modified to fit the scene. All original content and plot for _Defamation_ is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license by Morgan A. Wyndham. Cross published on Archive of our Own as MorganAW.

Chapter 1: Turn About the Room

Darcy was desperately trying to read through the email that his legal team had sent him, but was having difficulty with Caroline's constant chatter and attempts to draw his attention. He finally thought he'd gained the reprieve he needed when she stood up and began pacing the room. He'd read enough to see that there was some unusual traffic and and comments on the Pemberly Digital webpage related to a series of videos that somehow portrayed him in a negative light when Caroline loudly invited Lizzie to join her. His attention shifted from his laptop as Lizzie wafted past him in an airy sundress. The lounge had floor to ceiling windows, so Lizzie was silhouetted against the brilliant colors of a summer sunset leaving little to his suddenly very active imagination. Caroline, noticing his notice at last called for him to join them.

He shifted the computer on his lap to hide the fact that he couldn't possibly stand and walk with them at the moment and said in the most detached voice he could manage, "no, I see through your deceptive motives." Caroline had been trying to engage him all evening and using his infatuation with Lizzie to draw him into conversation was a low move.

"Deception! Whatever does that mean?" Caroline asked in a mockingly innocent voice.

"You are either walking together to banter about secrets," which he found doubtful since Caroline was the kind of woman who never could get along with other women – particularly those she viewed as a threat to her own objectives – "or because you're aware that your aimless strolling around the room shows off your figures," Darcy said, clearing his throat slightly. "If the first, I would be in your way. If the second, the view from here ..." Darcy let his gaze sweep down Lizzie's figure again and shifted uncomfortably, reminding himself that he couldn't date someone like her and he didn't want to lead her on, and coolly finished his sentence "... will do."

Lizzie rolled her eyes and continued strolling with Caroline while lightly teasing him for his snobbery. A base part of him wanted to stand up, to tell her the real reason he couldn't join them, to lay his cards on the table and claim her. To counterbalance those base desires he closed his eyes and pictured her horrible mother fist pumping at the Gibson wedding every time Bing danced with Jane. He couldn't attach himself to such a family. Even after things had cooled down a bit, Darcy no longer had the focus necessary to read through this legal briefing, so he shot off a terse reply telling them that he trusted their judgment and to deal with the issue as they saw fit.


	2. Chapter 2

CEASE AND DESIST

Jul 27, 2012

By Certified Mail

Ms. Elizabeth Bennet  
56 Longbourn Dr.  
Meryton, CA, 94608

Dear Ms. Bennet:

This law firm represents Pemberly Digital and its CEO William Darcy. If you are represented by legal counsel, please direct this letter to your attorney immediately and have your attorney notify us of such representation.

You are hereby directed to

CEASE AND DESIST ALL DEFAMATION OF WILLIAM DARCY'S CHARACTER AND REPUTATION.

William Darcy is an educated, respected professional in the community. He has spent years serving the community in his profession and building a positive reputation. William Darcy has learned that you have engaged in spreading false, destructive, and defamatory rumors about him.

Under California law, it is unlawful to engage in defamation of another's character and reputation. Defamation consists of

1.) a statement that tends to injure reputation;

2.) communicated to another; and

3.) that the speaker knew or should have known was false.

Your defamatory statements involved several recordings of Ms. Bennet insulting and presenting untrue mis-characterizations of Mr. Darcy on the video blog entitled _Lizzie Bennet Diaries_ which were uploaded by Ms. Charlotte Lu to YouTube spanning the dates 4/9/2012 through 7/26/2012.

Accordingly, we demand that you (A) immediately cease and desist your unlawful defamation of William Darcy and (B) provide us with prompt written assurance within ten (10) days that you will cease and desist from further defamation of William Darcy's character and reputation.

If you do not comply with this cease and desist demand within this time period, William Darcy is entitled to seek monetary damages and equitable relief for your defamation. In the event you fail to meet this demand, please be advised that William Darcy has asked us to communicate to you that he will pursue all available legal remedies, including seeking monetary damages, injunctive relief, and an order that you pay court costs and attorney's fees. Your liability and exposure under such legal action could be considerable.

Before taking these steps, however, my client wished to give you one opportunity to discontinue your illegal conduct by complying with this demand within ten (10) days. Accordingly, please sign and return the attached Defamation Settlement Agreement within ten (10) days to

Klimpton, Darby and Associates  
5572 Lambton Ave  
San Francisco, CA, 94104

I recommend that you consult with an attorney regarding this matter. If you or your attorney have any questions, please contact me directly.

Sincerely,  
Samuel Klimpton, Esq.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Confrontation

Lizzie Bennet stared at the quivering notice in her unsteady hands. This one piece of paper could ruin her entire life. She couldn't even afford to consult a lawyer about this, let alone go toe to toe with Darcy in a legal battle. She would have to comply or push her family off of the cliff of bankruptcy they'd been teetering on for a while now.

But complying with this demand would mean stopping the diaries and explaining why in the nicest possible way that wouldn't get her sued – which meant publicly recanting what she'd said about Darcy. The diaries were her thesis project for God's sake! This would probably mean failing her freaking thesis! She'd crossed an ethical line by uploading footage of Bing without his knowledge, but this ... Dr. Gardner couldn't accept this, even if she did include a chapter of her thesis on the legal and moral repercussions of the diaries. And what about Charlotte and Jane! If Lizzie was sued over the videos, the repercussions would impact Charlotte's career as well since she edited, uploaded, and promoted them. And how could Jane and Bing's relationship not be affected by his best friend suing her sister, there would be no hiding the videos from him then.

How did she not see this coming? She wasn't some dumb high school kid uploading videos for fun, she was a well-educated graduate student applying the skills she'd learned about Communications in an interactive form of story telling for web content. She'd read case studies of blocked content on YouTube and similar cease and desist orders in her journalism ethics class. How could she be so stupid to put her degree, her reputation, and her whole future on the line by showcasing such unguarded opinions on the internet without even considering the consequences?

She crumpled the paper in one hand while covering her eyes with the other as she sunk onto the couch in the lounge and cried. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there wallowing before she felt the couch dip and a gentle hand on her shoulder. She assumed it was Jane and was about to lean into her for comfort when she heard _his_ voice ask "Lizzie are you alright?"

She dropped her hand from her face and reared back, glaring at him. "How dare you ask me that?"

"What happened?"

He actually managed to sound confused, which infuriated Lizzie even more. The man was ten days away from suing her and he was acting like they were friends? "As if you didn't know!" Lizzie scoffed disdainfully.

"Lizzie, let me help you," he said with more emotion than she'd ever heard from him before.

Was this some kind of cruel joke? Lizzie shook her head fiercely, "I don't think I should talk to you without a lawyer."

"What?" He said, with a close approximation of shock.

He was still looming uncomfortably close to her in whatever this sick pantomime of concern was, so Lizzie forcefully pushed the letter into his chest, managing to push him out of her space long enough for her to get off of the couch. "You can stop playing dumb, it doesn't suit you or the situation. If you're going to be a shark, just admit that you're a shark and drop the act."

Darcy was looking down at the paper with a furrowed brow, somehow still playing innocent in all of this and suddenly Lizzie couldn't hold it in anymore. "Who are you to ruin my life and the lives of the people I love? You don't care who you hurt or what damage you cause, if you don't like someone, if you think someone is somehow less than you, you will just toss them aside! You are a slimy, unfeeling, sociopathic robot and if I never see you again it'll be too soon!"

* * *

Her words stung, but considering the letter in his hands he couldn't fault her for being angry. Once she realized that this was all some mistake and he'd cleared it all up surely she would take back those hasty accusations. "Lizzie, I didn't do this. I have no idea what this is about."

"Right, your lawyers just decided to sue me without even mentioning it to you?"

The image of Lizzie's body silhouetted in the sunset flashed before his eyes and he remembered the email from his legal team. He'd had no idea that _Lizzie Bennet_ was the person they were talking about. "They informed me that someone was impugning my character and I told them to follow the usual protocol for such matters, but you must believe me that I had no idea it was you."

"Do you really just hate other humans as a species so much that you can ruin someone's life without a second thought without even knowing who they were or what they said in the first place? Is that supposed to make me hate you less?" Lizzie fumed as she paced in front of him, "I can understand you hating me ..."

"Lizzie!" He interrupted her, unable to take more of her diatribe. "I don't hate you, I ... I am in love with you." He watched her gape and flounder for a response – at least she'd stopped spewing insults at him – and he felt the situation merited further explanation, "I can't believe it either, that my heart could completely overwhelm my judgment ... Two parts of me have been at war. Your odd family, your financial troubles. You're in a different world from me. People expect me to travel in certain circles, and I do respect the wishes of my family, but not today ..."

"I hope that your judgment can be some solace in your rejection because those feelings are not mutual."

He thought back over his impromptu admission and realize that it lacked tact, but he hadn't thought Lizzie the kind of woman who would punish him for his frank manner. "Are you rejecting me?"

"Does that surprise you?"

If she was going to be petty about this he was going to make her admit it. Perhaps if forced to say her reasons out loud she would realize how trivial they were. "May I ask why?"

"May I ask why you're even here, in spite of your social class, the wishes of your family, and your own better judgment?"

So she was upset for his awkward phrasing. He hadn't intended to confess his feelings for her, but her tears had broken down his walls and her anger had pierced his resolve. "That was badly put, but that's the world we live in. You can't deny it, social classes are a real thing. People who think otherwise live in a fantasy." She glared at him but he hoped she would see his point.

"That's just the beginning of a long list of reasons why I'm rejecting you."

"Such as?"

Her next words would haunt him over countless sleepless nights. "Such as, the nicest thing you've ever said about me was that I was decent enough. You act like you'd rather have a hernia repaired than be around me. You have a checklist for what makes an accomplished woman. And oh yeah, you're suing me!"

Darcy set his jaw and snapped back, "So this is what you think of me? Thank you for explaining it all to me so eloquently."

"And thank you for proving time and time again that your arrogance, pride, and selfishness make you the last man in the world I could ever fall in love with."

Darcy swallowed his feelings as best he could in the face of such brutal rejection and responded, "I'm sorry to have caused you so much pain. I should've acted differently. I was unaware of your feelings towards me."

"You were unaware? Then why don't you watch my videos?!"

* * *

Lizzie immediately realized what the impact of those words would be and the reality of her situation crashed back down on her. He may not have intentionally sent that cease and desist, or even known of her videos before, but now he was certain to watch them and to follow through on that legal threat. She barely heard his response of, "so there actually are videos?"

She grabbed for the letter that he had laid beside him on the couch and said quietly, "if you'll excuse me, I believe I need to contact my lawyer," and ran out of the room. Darcy was calling after her but she just sprinted until she reached her room. She slammed the door, then collapsed back into it and sunk to the ground where she again dissolved into tears. After she'd cried herself out and was somewhat confident in the steadiness of her voice she took a deep breath, grabbed her cell phone, and called her Uncle Phil. Typically he was an agricultural attorney, but she couldn't afford to hire anyone else and he could at least tell her where to start.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Illuminating

After the humiliating scene with Lizzie, Darcy retreated to the solitude of his room. He tried to wrap his head around her response to his declaration. He'd had women like Caroline Lee chasing after him his whole adult life and he just was not prepared for her rejection. He'd thought she'd been flirting with him every time they got into one of those playful spats. He'd been certain that she intentionally took opinions that were not her own just to tease him and it was as refreshing as it was intoxicating. Part of what had attracted him to her in the first place was that she wasn't like those other girls, throwing themselves at him and agreeing with everything he said. He laughed derisively at himself as the realization dawned on him that her acting the opposite of all of the other women who liked him should have been a clue that perhaps she _didn't_ like him.

Needing some clarification on Lizzie's opinions and feeling that he should do the due diligence that his legal team had suggested in the first place, Darcy sat down at his desk, opened his laptop, and typed "Lizzie Bennet Diaries" into his search bar. By the close of episode five he was just as bewitched by Lizzie's charm as ever and determined to watch through the videos to see what he was doing wrong. He made it about fifteen seconds into episode six before he hit pause and went off in search of a bottle of scotch. Thus armed he went back to his room to continue this bout of self flagellation.

By episode fourteen he was tipsy and loathing himself for the way he'd behaved. He'd let Bing and Caroline talk him into this trip as an escape from the social rigors of his daily life. Caroline had pitched this as a vacation to recharge his introvert batteries. It would be low pressure, just him and some of his oldest friends. He could telecommute – sure, he'd still have to call in to meetings and send emails, but he wouldn't have to worry about making small talk in the break room. After the emotional stress of the whole Wickham debacle and his continued strained relationship with Gigi in its aftermath, such a vacation from social interaction seemed ideal. He was therefore displeased to find that he had to attend a wedding shortly after his arrival. He'd come to Meryton with the preconceived notion that the locals were beneath his notice and so he hadn't even tried.

He'd felt ... something ... for Lizzie Bennet almost immediately but even with her he'd fought so hard against that attraction that he'd only doubly alienated her. Jane's depiction of him in the next video was endearing, but only solidified his bad behavior. He'd all but admitted his infatuation with Lizzie to Caroline but the second the object of his admiration looked his way he'd intentionally shut down any ability of interaction by pulling out his phone. And why? Because he didn't want to lead her on. After watching her videos the idea that she would have noticed his attraction and returned it was laughable. It was just so ... he actually did fall into an uncharacteristic fit of laughing for a moment, but that managed to break the dam of emotions he'd been holding in and he choked on his laugher in a strangled half sob.

He'd never been in love before. Even with Lizzie he couldn't remember when he fell in love with her. He'd spent so long resisting it, telling himself that those feelings weren't real, repeating to himself that it was just an infatuation, a crush, something trivial that he could ignore. And now that he'd finally admitted to himself and Lizzie that he loved her it was far too late. The damage was done.

The next few videos rolled on while he was wallowing in this newfound agony of self-awareness but partway through episode eighteen he suddenly sobered and paid vivid attention when George Wickham appeared on the field. "I'm just saying he's a gentleman, a rare, rare ... Okay, fine. George Wickham is programmed into my phone and he's already texted me today, Happy?" The fear that seized his heart was enough to propel him into action. Things may be beyond repair between him and Lizzie, but he couldn't let what happened to Gigi happen to Lizzie as well.

He paused the videos, having seen enough to know that Lizzie was only reacting to his own bad behavior in them, and called his lawyer. It was something of a hard sell to convince him that Lizzie Bennet was not, in fact saying anything false about him on her videos and to drop the proceedings.

Once that was accomplished, he sat down and prepared to write her a letter. He had to tell her who and what George Wickham was. He couldn't stand to see another person he loved hurt by that man. He'd made several false starts which ended up balled up in the trash bin and had just begun a fresh draft when a quick tap on the door gave him only the briefest notice before Caroline walked into his room. "Wow, you're writing a letter by hand, and in cursive! That's truly a lost art. How do you write so even? Every time I try to write by hand on unlined paper it ends up fanning out on one side," she said all of this as she walked across the room to lean suggestively against his desk. She leaned over and her fake smile slipped sideways off of her face as she read the salutation on his letter. "Lizzie Bennet," she sneered contemptuously, "has your admiration for her eyes finally overpowered your standards?"

"Don't bother teasing me, nothing you could say could possibly be worse ..." his eyes drifted toward the laptop that was still paused on Lizie's face.

"Oh! You found out about her videos," she perked up a little bit and clapped her hands, "are you going to sue her? She has said some awful things, and who does she think she is to ..."

"Caroline!" He cut her off, looking at her disbelievingly, "you knew? You knew about the videos and you didn't tell me?"

"Well I ..." she floundered for a minute, "I knew how angry you'd be. I was protecting you."

"Angry ... Protecting me? That doesn't ..." Darcy tried to process this new information, but his still somewhat inebriated state made it difficult.

"Look," Caroline said solicitously, putting her arm around his shoulders, "whatever Lizzie Bennet does or doesn't say shouldn't matter. She's below your notice." She reached across him to close his laptop – coincidentally pressing her body against his – and continued, "you shouldn't even bother continuing to watch this juvenile drivel."

Suddenly Caroline's motives became crystal clear. She was jealous, she knew about his ... feelings ... for Lizzie and when she found Lizzie's vlog she must have seen it as an opportunity to simultaneously stoke Lizzie's hatred of him while keeping him in the dark. Considering how adamant Caroline was that he shouldn't continue watching, he felt sure that she would appear in the videos at some point. He shook her off and stood, pacing a few feet away from her. "Thank you for your concern, Caroline," he said with sarcasm so dry he was sure it would be lost on his audience, "but I need to know what's been said about me."

Caroline opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before smiling and laughing out somewhat nervously, "well, I'm sure you'll know how to handle it."

"Yes, I'm confident I'll be able to figure out everyone's motives and act accordingly," he replied, maintaining the same steady gaze he used for business negotiations.

Caroline laughed again and said, "Oh, I think I hear Bing calling me," and left the room.

Darcy sighed and sunk back into his chair and re-opened his laptop. He looked between his unfinished letter and the Lizzie's smiling face, poured himself another drink, and hit play. Nearly an hour later Lizzie's outro of: "thank you Caroline for everything. You're a better woman than I am," taunted him as the playlist finished. Not only had Caroline known about the videos, but she had intentionally goaded Lizzie into criticizing him.

Now that he had all of the facts, he had a letter to finish. He sometimes had difficulty explaining himself, particularly in the company of Lizzie Bennet, and he was more confident he'd be able to get his point across in a letter.

He'd only managed a couple more lines before the quantity of scotch he'd consumed caught up to him and he stood and walked to the bathroom on unsteady feet. The route took him past Lizzie's door and on his return he paused. It was faint, but he could hear her crying. The same irrational need to comfort her that had overpowered him so much that afternoon that he'd put his arm around her as he would have done for Gigi and ultimately prompted him to confess his love washed over him again. Even as he raised his hand to the door he knew it was a mistake, she was angry and scared, he was hurt, drunk, and apparently incapable of common civility even when sober, but her tears compelled him to reach out to her again.

* * *

The call with Uncle Phil was long and draining. She'd read him the letter in its entirety and given him an account of what her diaries were and what she'd said about Darcy. His disappointment in her behavior was nearly as evident in his tone as his uncertainty that there was anything to be done in the situation. At the end of the call he'd agreed to contact Darcy's lawyers and start negotiations.

Now Lizzie sat drained and despondent on her bed and felt the purple walls closing in on her as she waited for Uncle Phil to call her back. As she waited, she couldn't help but think of all of the potential outcomes of this situation, none of which were hopeful. If her journalism ethics professor found out about this he could get her kicked out of school. He was one of those tenured relics who should have retired ages ago but refused to give up his job or his office. He held print journalism up as the epitome of excellence, scarcely accepted televised news as proper news, and viewed the internet as the inevitable downfall of everything worthy in our society. Since Lizzie's life goal was to change the culture via the medium of web video and she'd said that in their first day ice breaker, he'd had it out for her from the beginning.

Even if she managed to avoid that fate, there was no way she could hide this from Dr. Gardner. She was using the _Diaries_ as her thesis project so her advisor would inevitably find out. This could tank her thesis topic after months of work and possibly push back her graduation. Not to mention loosing the respect of her advisor ... who had the ability to make or destroy her career. She was watering her pillow while envisioning her future of destitution and shame when she heard a soft knock at her door. She sat up and tried to wipe away the tears but gave up and called out, "who is it?"

"Lizzie, can we talk?" Darcy asked from the other side of the door. Lizzie froze, vacillating between telling him to go to hell and making nice to ensure he wouldn't sue her. She eventually stood and moved toward the door. She was taken aback when she opened it to the sight of a disheveled Darcy leaning his head against the door frame and looking at her with disbelief. "I ... I didn't think you'd open the door."

"What do you want Darcy?" She asked, her tone skirting the line between civility and hostility.

"I wanted to see if you were ok," he said softly, slurring the 's' a bit.

"Are you drunk?" Lizzie asked incredulously. She'd seen him drink several times at Carter's but she'd never seen him drunk before.

"I suspect you would be too if the woman you loved told you that you were the 'last man in the world she could ever fall in love with.'"

"If I were in love with a woman that would drastically change the dynamic of this scenario," Lizzie quipped.

Darcy chuckled, "You're so funny, and witty, and clever ..." He paused and just stared at her for a minute before seemingly gathering up his courage "... And you're so pretty that I couldn't take my eyes off of you whenever you were in the room but I never thought you were a trainwreck. And you _do_ have fine eyes. And I _did_ want to dance with you. And I don't even think they _make_ $5000 boxers."

Lizzie didn't quite know how to react to all of that, but there was one painfully obvious conclusion, "you watched my videos."

He nodded without lifting his head. "Apparently I _was_ dooming myself to be alone for life."

Lizzie rolled her eyes at that. "Oh come on, Darcy! Don't be so dramatic."

He looked up hopefully, "do you mean I have a chance?"

"With me?" She asked, snorting a little at the absurdity of it, "no. But I'm sure you'll find a nice snobby girl someday who _doesn't_ hate you." Darcy slumped further into the door frame and shook his head no. Lizzie had had it with this conversation and snapped, "look, it's not my job to do the emotional labor of dealing with this for you," as she began to close the door, "I've got my own problems!"

"No wait!" He said as he held the door open, "this isn't what I came here for." Lizzie held open the door again and looked at him expectantly. "I called my lawyer, there will be no lawsuit. It never should have gone this far, I'm sorry."

Lizzie closed her eyes and sighed in relief. Her life wasn't ruined. She probably wouldn't get dropped from the program and she could write her thesis and graduate as intended. She looked up at Darcy and some of that residual anger and anxiety rose up again, "I hope you don't expect a thank you. I shouldn't have to be grateful that you fixed a problem you created in the first place."

Darcy wilted a little more but answered quietly, "I know, I don't expect anything from you. But I've watched your videos and I need to warn you about George Wickham. I know you have no reason to believe me but I swear everything I'm about to say is the truth."

Lizzie's head reeled at scope of the black cloud that William Darcy had managed to spread over her life. "Are you so jealous that you've got to destroy my relationship with a great guy? That seems below you Darcy."

"I wouldn't do this if I wasn't concerned for your safety. I couldn't live with myself if he hurt you. The way that ..." Lizzie watched in fascinated horror as Darcy began to cry and choked out, "the way he hurt Gigi ... my sister was devastated ... she stopped eating and wouldn't talk to me for months."

Lizzie found herself saddled with a drunken sobbing man who would rapidly make a scene if they stayed in the hallway. She could either push him out of the room and hope he stumbled back to melt down in his own room, or pull him in to her room and try to get the full story out of him. She felt like she was too deep in now to not hear the end, so she pulled him into her room and plopped him down on her desk chair. "Here," she said impatiently as she handed him a box of tissues, then rummaged around in her bag and emerged with a bottle of water, "drink this."

He docilely complied and she sat at the foot of the bed to wait while he pulled himself together. The shrill ring of her phone echoed eerily into the tense silence, Lizzie scrambled to her purse to grab it, she'd almost forgotten that she had been anxiously awaiting a phone call. She answered it and her uncle confirmed that the case had been dropped. "I don't know what you said to that kid, but his lawyer said he'd called to stop all proceedings long before I even called in. He seems like a keeper."

"Seriously?" Lizzie said incredulously, "that's your take away from this?"

"He's some silicon valley bigwig who is used to getting his own way, but one conversation with you and he tripped all over himself to fix it. Either you should switch professions and go into law yourself, or you've got him wrapped around your finger. But what do I know, I usually just deal with livestock and land disputes."

"You're delusional, maybe you should just stick to your cows and crops in the future," Lizzie said playfully, "but seriously, thank you Uncle Phil."

"No problem sweatheart, try to stay out of trouble though, ok? This really isn't my strong suit."

When she got off the phone, Darcy was looking at her anxiously, "is everything alright?"

"Yeah, apparently your lawyer had everything settled before my uncle finished his research and called him."

"Good." There was a moment of awkward silence before he haltingly apologized for his outburst. "I was planning on writing all of this in a letter to avoid saying the wrong thing or expressing myself poorly, but when I heard you crying ..."

"It's fine," Lizzie said, trying to deflect away from his feelings. "Now, are you going to tell me why I should stay away from the charming George Wickham and what it has to do with your sister?" Lizzie asked, impatient to find out how these two men from different parts of her life could possibly be connected.

"For a long time George Wickham was my best friend. We grew up together. Our families were close. When his father was dying, my father promised to help raise him. He followed through on that promise in part by setting up a college fund for him. Wickham's grades had not been stellar in high school, so he required a couple of years of community college to increase his GPA before he could continue on to a better university. My father was a great man, but he always had something of a blind spot for Wickham's faults. Dad was always his greatest champion through that time though and patiently helped him in any way he could.

Unfortunately, my own father died shortly before Wickham transferred to UC Santa Barbara. Wickham wanted to handle his own finances, and as I was young and dealing with my father's estate and company was already overwhelming I gave in and gave him full access to the fund. Within a year he was on academic probation and had burned through the funds that should have lasted him the full four years."

"How did he even ..." Lizzie contemplated the size of her student loans and balked at the amount he must have gone through in such a brief time. "Wait! What does this have to do with your sister? or my safety?"

"That was the necessary set up for what I thought was the final act of my dealings with Wickham. He demanded more money and when I refused he started telling everyone that he had been denied what was rightfully his. He also threatened me, told me he'd get what he was owed one way or another. I cut off ties and hadn't spoken to him for years, but you have to remember that he'd been around a lot when I, and more importantly Gigi, were growing up. What I didn't realize was that he'd somehow gotten back in contact with Gigi. He is eight years older than her, he saw her take her first steps and he ..." Darcy's fists and jaw clenched in remorse. "She was eighteen and trying to make the swim team."

"And he's a swim coach ..." Lizzie completed for him numbly, seeing where this was headed.

"It started with him coaching her and things escalated from there. By the time I found out about it he was living with her. I flew in to see her. A surprise. I had keys to her condo, so I walked in and saw him ... _with_ my baby sister."

"Oh no, wha ... what did you say? Lizzie asked sympathetically.

"Very little, I was focusing most of my energy on controlling my rage. I barely recognized Gigi, she was like some shell of my sister. She got between us and gave this speech, trying to convince me that George really loved her and that everything was going to be alright but her voice was so small, almost broken, like she needed to convince herself as well as me. The whole time she was talking, Wickham was standing behind her posturing and grinning at me with this smug triumphant smile." He hung his head and wiped a few fresh tears from his eyes.

Despite herself Lizzie felt bad for the guy. The pain in his voice was too real to be an act. She tried to imagine how she would react if something like that happened to Lydia and she reached her hand across the few feet that separated them to squeeze his hand in sympathy. "What did you do?"

"I told her everything, about the college fund, about the threats, I told her that George was using her to get back at me, and for her money but she refused to believe me so I had to prove it."

"How could you possibly prove it?"

"I got out my checkbook and wrote a check and held it in front of George's face." Lizzie retracted her hand at that. It was such a callous, entitled rich man's response to a crisis that her anger began to rise again. "And George took it. He looked at her, winked, and said 'sorry Peach,' and then was gone."

"That's horrible, I'm sorry," she said as her pesky empathy interfered with her desire to hate the man.

* * *

Darcy had felt the loss of her hand as soon as it was gone, but her reaction did at least seem like she genuinely believed him. He swallowed and continued on, "that's not even the worst of it. After he was gone my sister was ... broken ... she wouldn't eat, couldn't sleep. I've seen breakups – Bing has his heart broken at regular intervals – but this was worse, deeper, more intense. She'd repeat criticisms about herself and about me that sounded more like George than Gigi. He'd somehow gotten so far under her skin that once he was gone it was like she couldn't remember how to function without him. She needed an outlet for her anger and frustration and grief and I was it. I wanted to come stay with her for a while until she was more herself, but she refused to talk to me."

He closed his eyes as that pain washed back over him, but opened them again at Lizzie's soft exclamation: "that's awful."

He remembered his initial purpose in laying his darkest secrets bare to her and pleaded: "Please tell me you'll stay away from George Wickham. Not for me, not because I'm jealous, but for your own sake," he leaned forward and grasped at her hands. "You're so vibrant and vital and confident and it would kill me to see another person I l..." he stopped himself from repeating _that_ word, painfully aware that Lizzie didn't share his feelings and continued in a more sedate tone, "... to see him drain the life out of you the way he did to Gigi."

Lizzie averted her eyes but nodded, "he was only in town for swim week, so who knows if I'll ever even see him again, but I'll keep my distance if I do."

"Thank you," Darcy sighed and some of the tension drained from his shoulders.

"How is your sister now?" Lizzie asked.

"Somewhat better. We're at least on speaking terms again. She still wasn't talking to me when I arrived at Netherfield, but we'd attempted a phone call the day of Stewart's wedding ... it didn't go well."

"So you had a reason for your mood?" Lizzie asked, giving him an opening to atone for yet another error.

"I did, but it was wrong of me to take it out on all of you. And when Bing tried to get me to dance again I said whatever I could think of to get him to leave me alone." He hung his head again then looked up at her with pleading eyes, "You are so much more than 'decent enough' and I will always regret those words. Lizzie Bennet, you are the most beautiful women I know."

Lizzie rolled her eyes, but she must have seen the truth in Darcy's eyes, because her expression suddenly sobered. He waited anxiously for her to say something, anything in response, but that charged moment was interrupted by a cheery "knock knock" at her door quickly followed by Bing. Lizzie and Darcy shot apart, but Bing looked between them with a knowing grin. "Okay, that was weird. Caroline sent me to find you guys for dinner, but I can tell them to hold off for a bit if I'm interrupting something."

Darcy wanted to tell him to leave them alone, but Lizzie prevented that by saying in a falsely cheery voice, "dinner sounds great!" And bolting out of the room.

Bing looked at Darcy with a cheezy grin, "so what _was_ I interrupting?"

"Nothing," Darcy said tersely.

"Well that 'nothing' seemed pretty intense, you know you can talk to me, right?" Bing said full of polite concern with a dash of light hearted ribbing. Darcy nodded in response and moved toward the door. "And, uh, Darcy ... you might want to splash some water on your face before we head downstairs." Darcy had nearly forgotten his breakdown and tears and went silently to the bathroom to make himself presentable before heading down for dinner.

* * *

 **Note:** This felt like the right progression to me for what would happen in this scenario

-Darcy gets drunk on scotch and self-loathing while watching the videos

-If they're staying in the same house when this happens they will run into each other and if Lizzie is upset he *has* to try and fix it (b/c Darcy has to try and fix all of the problems)

-Heartbroken drunken Darcy cries and spills everything to Lizzie

-Lizzie has a hard time not believing him when he's ugly crying about his baby sister


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Darcy Wickham Drama

Lizzie was sitting at Carter's with her sisters trying to figure out on a scale of rainbows to Hindengurg how big of a disaster this evening would be. She'd ignored or sent terse 'not interested' responses to all of George Wickham's texts and emails since the drunken Darcy drama evening, but he was somehow still here, getting them all drinks. She still had mixed feelings about Darcy – he was still an arrogant snob but seeing someone self-destruct that hard in one evening alongside a string of apologies and complements made it hard to hate him as fully as she had previously – but she did believe what he'd said about George Wickham and she wanted nothing to do with the guy. For some reason, her sudden lack of interest seemed to pique George's interest and he wouldn't leave her alone. It's not like she could explain her new-found dislike of him to her sisters without spilling secrets that Darcy wouldn't want told, so here she sat awaiting disaster.

She'd been careful not to say anything on the videos or to her sisters about the cease and desist letter, Darcy's feelings, or any of the revelations of that night until she could comprehend it all better. She'd spent another week at Netherfield under his intense gaze which had shifted from 'trainwreck' to 'wounded adoration'. She'd avoided him as best she could and he'd not sought her out either. She hadn't seen him since, but if Bing and Caroline were coming tonight that meant Darcy would be there as well. The door of the bar opened and Darcy and Caroline walked in – great, no Bing to help smooth things over. Darcy approached their table and stood across from her. "Oh, hi Lizzie, it's so nice to see you."

"Hi Darcy," Lizzie said distractedly as she craned her neck to ascertain Wickham's position but she could no longer see him.

"So I was thiking about what you said about how Tolstoy..."

Lizzie nervously interrupted him, "I should warn you that _he_ is here."

"Wh..." he started in a confused tone, but then his face took on a hard glare as he looked over Lizzie's shoulder.

Wickham stopped next to Lizzie and handed her a beer. "Here you go Peach," he said standing entirely too close to her.

Darcy's eyes shifted from his cold glare at Wickham to a disbelieving hurt look at Lizzie before he abruptly said: "I'm sorry, I have to go," and bolted towards the door. Lizzie felt Wickham's hand snake around her waist and she jumped off of her stool to get away from him. Before she had time to make a conscious decision, she was running out of the bar after Darcy.

"Hey!" she called out to him just as he reached his car. He stiffened in response but didn't turn. His fists were balled as tightly as they had been when he'd told her what happened to Gigi. She hadn't really thought this through and didn't quite know what to say from here. "So, Tolstoy ...?"

"Shouldn't you go back in to your ..." here he struggled a moment for a word before spitting out "... date?"

"Oh come on! Do you really think I'd date him after what you told me?"

He finally turned around and asked in a pained voice, "what is he doing here, Lizzie?"

"I can't stop him from going to a bar. I've tried to shake him off but he's creepily persistent," she shuddered slightly at the memory of his hand on her waist.

Darcy surged toward her and asked in a concerned voice, "are you ok? Has he ..."

"I'm fine, it was just texts and emails until now. He just got back in town tonight and showed up at the bar."

"Have you explicitly told him to leave you alone via text?"

"I told him I'm not interested. Twice."

"Good. If he keeps following you we can use that as evidence to get a restraining order." Lizzie looked at him skeptically. He sighed, "ok, that may be a bit drastic."

"Just a bit," Lizzie laughed as she stepped closer and put a soothing hand on his shoulder.

He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I just ... I can't stand the idea of him near you."

Her stomach dropped a bit as she came to a realization. "Maybe that's what he wants."

"If he knows about your videos, he would know how I felt about you." She raised her eyebrow at him in question. "We were friends for a long time. Just because _you_ didn't pick up on it, doesn't mean _he_ wouldn't. And he waited to resurface until your best friend left town and you were vulnerable."

Lizzie shivered and he wrapped a protective arm around her. She sighed and noted: "I'm not a damsel in distress, you know. I don't need a white knight to save me from the dastardly villain."

I know you are a capable woman," he dropped his arm and conceded, "I guess I'm just used to protecting the people I ... the people in my life."

He looked so absurdly defeated that Lizzie couldn't help but tease him. "Oh, it's just killing you isn't it?" she asked in a playful voice, "not being in control of this situation?"

"It is ... difficult," he responded in a dead serious voice.

Lizzie laughed, "well, the damsel has been well warned and the villain has a limited arsenal, what do you say we head back inside?"

"Can't we just go ... anywhere else?" His demeanor was shifting between the CEO, the knight, and a kid begging his mom to call him in sick to school so he didn't have to face the bully.

Lizzie did empathize with his desire to avoid his former friend, but ... "you can go if you want to, but you're not the only one with a sister and I can't leave mine here unaware of who he is."

"No," he sighed reluctantly, "I suppose not – and I won't leave you to face the wolf alone."

"Oh, there are plenty of other burly men in the bar tonight," she teased. His face fell and she realized that he wasn't quite ready to laugh at himself, so she held out her hand and added, "but I would appreciate the backup."

The corner of his lips twitched up and he took her hand as they walked back to the entrance. "I bet Caroline would be happy to let you play _her_ knight in shinning armor," Lizzie teased as they neared the door.

Darcy rolled his eyes, "I've been there far to many times to wish to attempt it again."

"Eew," Lizzie said, dropping his hand. She was mostly teasing, but feeling somewhat foolish for the real wave of jealousy that washed over her.

"No! That's not ... that is ..." Darcy immediately stopped and floundered "... I do not now, nor have I ever, had any interest in Caroline other than as Bing's sister." Lizzie couldn't help but notice how cute he was when flustered. She couldn't help but laugh at his antics. Darcy stared at her in confusion until he finally asked: "are you teasing me?"

"Only because your response is so adorable." Lizzie said just as she opened the door and preceded him into the bar.

* * *

Lizzie Bennet had just called him adorable. She'd listened to his warning, comforted him when he was upset, and held his hand. He gaped at her retreating back for a moment before he followed her in, peripherally aware that he'd likely follow her like a puppy anywhere she asked him to go. He knew that she didn't love him, he knew that his chances were slim, but he also knew that he'd been miserable since she'd left Netherfield. He rationally knew that he should get over her and move on but his rational brain had never dealt with this level of resistance from his stubborn heart in the past. So he followed her to the table and took the last stool between her and Caroline.

Caroline leaned in and whispered, "where did you run off to? You can't abandon me here with these people."

"I just needed some air," he replied tersely, unwilling to fill Caroline in on the current situation.

It was a trying evening. He was stuck between the woman he wanted the woman who wanted him, with his snake of a former friend across the table for good measure. Wickham willfully ignored the dark looks Darcy was sending him and continued to flirt with Lizzie despite her obvious lack of interest. Even with Wickham intentionally baiting him at every opportunity, he took solace in the idea that his presence was successful at least in keeping that man physically away from Lizzie for the evening.

Darcy nearly lost his temper when Wickham casually asked how Gigi was doing. Before he had a chance to do anything he would regret he felt Lizzie slip her hand into his in solidarity, anchoring him. While Caroline, ignorant of the circumstances, was chatting on about all of Gigi's accomplishments, Lizzie interrupted the table to ask if anybody needed drinks. After Jane, Lydia and Caroline all made requests, Lizzie turned to him and said, "I could use an extra set of hands."

He squeezed her hand in gratitude before dropping it and following her to the bar. As they waited for the drinks Lizzie turned to him and asked: "how are you holding up?" Her brow was furrowed in concern and the fact that she cared soothed him more than anything else could at that moment.

"As difficult as it is, I think I will survive the evening. Thank you for the escape."

"No problem, you stayed to back me up, but I've got your back too, you know." She smiled and grabbed three bottles of beer and a glass of wine as their order came up and he smiled at her dexterity.

"Well, if you want to keep up appearances, you'd better let me carry some of the drinks, how are you even doing that?"

Lizzie laughed and held up the hand where she held three bottles of beer between her fingers, "yeah, sorry, force of habit. I worked through undergrad as a cocktail waitress."

"That's quite the accomplishment," he said as he took one of the bottles of beer and his own glass of scotch.

"Well," she said with laughter flashing in those bewitching eyes, "you never know what you're overlooking if you stick to your preconceived list of accomplishments."

"I certainly never expected you," he answered in some awe at their easy conversation.

"Ha!" Lizzie laughed, "No, I'm pretty sure I blindsided you."

"Please never stop blindsiding me," the words tumbled out of his mouth before he realized he'd said them.

Instead of the indignation and repulsion he'd received on his first declaration of his feelings, she merely laughed again and headed to the table. Darcy followed, scarcely aware of the uncharacteristic smile plastered on his face. The evening drew on and Wickham was an ass, Caroline was clingy, Lydia made a spectacle of herself, and Jane patiently smiled at men who flirted with her, but Darcy barely noticed any of it in the wake of Lizzie's smiles.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Having a ball at Netherfield

Lizzie sat at the bar in the Netherfield lounge looking out over the garden lit with fairy lights. It was beautiful, and Lizzie had to admit that Caroline Lee put on an amazing party. Her eyes refocused and she saw Darcy's reflection. He was still in the same position as he had been twenty minutes ago when she'd sat down to look through Ellen's honeymoon pictures. Every time she'd looked up he'd been staring at her, but he'd yet to approach her even though Stewart had dragged Ellen onto the dance floor five minutes ago and she'd been all alone and approachable for five whole minutes.

They'd been getting along so well that night at Carters, but Lizzie hadn't heard from him since. With her continued rebuffs, George Wickham had finally left her alone and a part of Lizzie was left wondering if Darcy had just been that attentive at the bar out of some misguided sense of responsibility to protect her from his Nemesis. She had reluctantly come to the realization that she'd kinda missed him. Lizzie saw Caroline make another attempt to draw Darcy into conversation and took the opportunity to slip into the crowd while he was distracted. She meandered about the periphery of the room laughing softly when he looked back at her empty stool and was startled at her absence. She came up beside him while he was scanning the room and said, "You're doing that thing again."

He gave her a small smile as he turned and said, "and what 'thing' is that?"

"Staring at me from a distance instead of just coming to talk to me. I don't bite, you know."

"Not literally, perhaps. But figuratively ..."

"Cut a girl a break, you were suing me at the time."

"An unfortunate mistake which I will forever regret."

"I suppose I can forgive you considering the dozens of mean videos about you I posted to the internet."

Darcy looked at her disbelievingly and asked: "can you?" At her questioning silence he amended: "can you forgive me?"

"Yes, neither of us were at our best that day."

"What did you say of me, that I did not deserve? Your accusations were perhaps ill-founded, but my behavior to you at the time was unpardonable."

"It's all water under the bridge, right?" Lizzie said, she could tell he was about to disagree and say something else self-deprecating, so she cut him off: "besides, this song is really catchy. I hear it's popular and really good for dancing"

He smiled, catching her reference, held out his hand out to her, and said "Lizzie, do you wanna get your groove thing on?"

Lizzie dissolved into a fit of giggles but took his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. The song changed to something slower and sweeter that had reached even higher on the top forty lists, but Darcy took her in his arms and began deftly leading her across the floor. "So, William Darcy _can_ dance after all," she said, somewhat surprised.

"Gigi went through a Ginger Rogers phase in high school. It was the first thing she'd shown any real interest in after our parents had died, so I took lessons with her."

"Aw, what a sweet older brother! And so refined! Since I only have sisters we mostly just ended up dancing with the couch cushions to the Backstreet Boys," Lizzie said and they danced in companionable silence for a refrain. "So, the most awkward dance ever?"

He sighed and explained, "I didn't want to be at that wedding. I didn't want to dance, and especially not with the most vibrant woman in the room. Not my finest hour."

"But you didn't wanna like me then." Lizzie pouted playfully.

"Well, my mind changed soon enough," he said and pierced her with that intense gaze. "Lizzie, what are we doing here?" He asked with a hopeful but tortured expression. "I still feel the same way I felt in July. More strongly even than I did then. So if you just want to be friends or ..."

Lizzie cut him off by shifting her hand from his shoulder to his neck and pulling him down into a kiss. She wasn't quite sure when her own feelings had changed so drastically, but she was sure now that this was what she wanted. When she pulled back, she anxiously scanned his face, but his eyes were still closed and he still seemed a bit dazed. "Does that clarify some things for you?"

"Some. I could use some further illumination on certain points however," he said then pulled her close and kissed her again. A crash of glass vaguely registered in Lizzie's consciousness, but it wasn't until Lydia shouted: "Get a room!" at them that they pulled back and smiled at each other, her hands trailing down to toy with his tie. Lizzie indulged that smile for a moment before looking around her and saw Jane covering a surprised but happy smile with one hand, Lydia winking at them, and Caroline fuming at them while one of the caterers picked up the shattered remains of her wine glass from the floor next to her. Lizzie had never been more glad that they'd planned a party within the party and her mother wasn't in the room.

* * *

Normally William Darcy would be upset at the spectacle they'd made by kissing in the middle of a party, but he was about fifty percent convinced that this was all a dream anyway. It seemed implausible that Lizzie Bennet would kiss him. She looked around the room, but he didn't dare look away from her lest she disappear as his dreams often ended. After a moment he lurched forward as Lizzie tugged his tie and led him out of the room like a puppy. And he followed, as knew he always would when given the chance.

She managed to navigate around the room where the parents were congregated and up the stairs. Before he realized what was going on Lizzie was shutting a door and he finally looked up and saw purple walls. Lizzie's room. The room where he'd broken down and told her his darkest secrets and gained some level understanding with her.

"So ..." Lizzie started a bit shyly.

"So," He said, running his hand along her back, still in a state of disbelief that he now could do such a thing.

"I haven't heard from you since that night at Carters."

"I didn't know if you wanted to hear from me," he explained, hoping to convey that his hesitance had been solely for her benefit, "I watched your videos and saw that George Wickham was out of your life, but you didn't say anything about me, or reach out. I didn't want to press unwelcome advances on you."

She gave him a devastating smile and assured him: "Not unwelcome. I promise."

"I had hoped after that night that your opinion had changed some, but after the first time ..."

"I get it. Confusing. God, for two such smart people we can certainly act like idiots can't we?"

"One might even say it's our forte."

"Well let me make things as clear as possible. William Darcy, I don't wanna be just friends and I don't wanna be with you because I'm grateful. I wanna be with you because of you. Got it?"

Darcy was closer to eighty percent sure he was dreaming at this point, but he wasn't going to waste the opportunity in either case. "Clear as day Lizzie Bennet," he murmured as he pulled her in for another kiss.

She eventually pulled back and leaned her forehead against his. "We should get back to the party," she whispered.

He hugged her close and moaned: "not yet," into her hair. He was certain he would wake up soon and leaving this room felt like the natural end to this perfect dream.

She tugged him down by the tie and kissed him again but before they could progress to the other natural conclusion to such a dream she drew back and said, "if we stay up here all night my mother might come looking for us."

He sighed and kissed her forehead, "we wouldn't want that." She grabbed his hand and they returned to the party.

* * *

 **Notes:** In my head they were dancing to Unchained Melody (something about the urgency of that song seems to fit this Darcy to me), but I wanted to leave it ambiguous so you all could supply whatever cheesy popular song pops into your heads.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: All good dreams

When William Darcy blinked into consciousness the morning after Bing's birthday party he tried desperately to retain every moment of his dream from the night before. He'd dreamed about Lizzie before but none had ever been as vivid as last night's dream. He opened his eyes fully and surveyed his room. It certainly didn't appear that anything monumental had happened last night. His clothes were neatly draped across the chair like always, the comforter was still evenly draped over the bed, the left side of which showed no second occupant. No dent in the pillow with a single red hair. He rolled over and grabbed that pillow in the hopes of tricking himself back into a dream of holding Lizzie Bennet, but his phone made a text alert and he was reminded that all good dreams must come to an end.

He picked his phone up off of the nightstand and grinned broadly. There was a text message from Lizzie Bennet (with an avatar picture of her smiling in her dress from last night): _Good morning_ 3

Instead of responding via text he called her. "Hello," she answered almost immediately in a cheery voice.

"Good morning," he said, his voice gravely and still thick with sleep. "I had the most wonderful dream last night that the perfect woman kissed me in a room full of witnesses and agreed to be my girlfriend."

She laughed that irresistible laugh and replied, "well, I don't know about perfect, but all of that did happen with _me_ last night."

"Here I was trying to convince myself to fall back to sleep and return to that dream, when you texted me and informed me it was real."

"Nope, it was so real that Lydia informed my mother of the development on the car ride home and she's already naming our children." Darcy couldn't help but imagine that future himself. Say what you will of Mrs. Bennet's schemes, she couldn't possibly be planning their future faster than he had. He was a decisive man and he knew that he loved Lizzie Bennet, that he wanted her in his life, the whole package, forever. But, since that was hardly the appropriate thing to say to your girlfriend less than a day after she became such, he played along and made some pithy comments commiserating with her about her mother's plotting.

"So, what are your plans for the day Mr. Darcy?" She asked once they'd worn out the subject of her mother.

"Nothing fixed, Ms. Bennet, what did you have in mind?"

"Breakfast?"

"Breakfast," he affirmed, "I'll pick you up in twenty minutes?"

"Sounds great, I'll see you soon, William." She said his name tentatively, like she was trying it out and his heart flopped at the sound of it.

"I'll see you soon, bye." he said, biting his tongue to prevent him from adding an 'I love you' - it was too soon, he didn't want to scare her off. When he hung up he all but sprinted out of bed to get dressed with his mind full of hopes for the future.


End file.
